Bus riders could get restaurant discount with bus slip

By KIMBERLINA ROCHA

While most passengers will throw their bus ticket slip away, Tomas Casas Acosta has a better idea.

Why not present it to a restaurant or store and get a discount on a meal or supplies, the entrepreneur says.

This way, the $1 charge of riding the bus is defrayed, which gives passengers a “free” bus ride.

“People on the bus should be thanked by the city of Fresno,” said Acosta. “The city should be glad that they’re using the bus.”

Acosta, 59, owner of the non-profit agency Housing Ownership Management and Education, thought of the money-saving idea in 2001, when bus fares went up from 75 cents to $1.At first, he wrote letters to Fresno-area Express officials, asking them to lower the cost. After they turned him down, Acosta sought a way to reimburse riders for the $1 they pay.

Acosta decided to enlist the support of restaurants located near bus stops to give rebates on meals to FAX customers. When Acosta approached FAX officials again with his proposal, they couldn’t pass it up.

John Villeneuve, a planner for FAX, liked Acosta’s idea and thought it was a smart investment.

“It’s a good idea,” Villeneuve said. “It provides an added value for passengers. It gives them something extra.”

In January 2004, the FAX Price Break Program went into effect. The International House of Pancakes at 3418 W. Shaw Ave. and 3020 E. Tulare St., and Mr. Ed’s BBQ at 1342 E. Tulare St. were the first businesses to sign up.

“The program sounded like a good deal,” said Anthony Edwards, owner of Mr. Ed’s BBQ where customers receive a free drink with their meals if they present the ticket.

“It’s a great way to attract customers,”Acosta said.

He said everyone could benefit from the program.

“This doesn’t cost FAX anything,” he said. “You could take your transfer slip to a store and get discounts. It’s good business for them.”

Since the program’s inception, 14 businesses have signed on, including the Chaffee Zoo and Office Depot on E. Divisadero Street.

But most bus patrons, it seems, still don’t know about the Price Break Program.

At El Taco Rapido, located on E. Tulare St., managers said they haven’t seen many people taking advantage of the program. With the transfer slip, customers receive a free drink when they purchase a meal at El Taco Rapido.

“Maybe just one or two people have come in with the slip,” an employee said. “There really has been no difference in business or in the numbers of customers.”

So now Acosta has decided to take matters into his own hands. With the help of his own non-profit organization, he goes out and promotes the program at conventions. Recently, Acosta made his pitch at the Clean Air Business Expo, last Thursday, in hopes of adding more businesses to get the program more publicity.

“I’m trying to get the word out,“ Acosta said. “No one’s paying me to do this. I’m doing this out of my own personal interest.”

A complete listing of participating businesses in the FAX Price Break Program is printed inside the FAX schedule guide found in buses and bus stops.